Aschenbrödel

In this modern version of the fairy tale Aschenputtel [Cinderella], Prince Leon is the owner of a department store and his ‘Cinderella’ is employed in a small workshop. Johann Strauß expressed the wish for a contemporary libretto for his first fulllength ballet, but was unfortunately unable to complete his work on the score which reflects this modernity in its many facets. The well-known ballet composer Josef Bayer completed the ballet on the basis of existing sections and sketches. The planned premiere at the Vienna State Opera was however cancelled and the ballet was not given its first performance until 1901 in Berlin, two years after the composer’s death, in a new reworking which was also compiled by Bayer. When Aschenbrödel was first performed in Vienna in 1908, it was the first performance of a modern ballet in contemporary costume without tutus and tulle. The New Johann Strauss Complete Edition has published both the version of the premiere in Berlin and a complete reconstruction of the never performed original version in two separate volumes.